Ankit SIKARWAR, Institut national d’études démographiques (Ined), France
The rural population living in the peri-urban areas is highly exposed to a variety of demographic, socio-economic and environmental transformations. Such changes are driven by multiple factors and some of them are often difficult to be captured during census or survey counting. Urban expansion in India has been affecting the rural community in many ways. A shift from agricultural to non-agricultural activities, as a consequence of peri-urbanization, comes up with unfolded challenges for rural communities. This study investigates some of the uncovered factors such as urban proximity (distance from the main city, major towns, and major roads) and land transformations (land-use, land surface temperature, land consumption) that might be fueling these economic transformations. A total of 615 peri-urban villages surrounding Ahmedabad metropolitan city of India have been analyzed for the period of twenty years (1991 to 2011). The study integrates spatial (remotely sensed) data with non-spatial (census) data with the use of the Geographic Information System (GIS). Various spatial analyses, such as spatial autocorrelations and geographically weighted regression, have been employed to check the associations and patterns. The results illustrate a clear shift of the huge proportion of the population from agricultural (86 percent in 1991 to 46 percent in 2011) to non-agricultural activities (14 percent in 1991 to 54 percent in 2011). In addition, no improvement has been observed in the proportion of workers working in temporary activities (Marginal Workers). This study also confirms that this economic transition is greatly affected by urban proximity and land transformations parameters, with spatially varying patterns that are only detectable by integrating spatial data with census data.
Keywords: Rural|Census|Remote Sensing|Peri-urban|India
A104332AS